Why Do You Wear Your Cap?
by Princessof Tennis
Summary: UP FOR ADOPTION. After the match with Hyotei, Tezuka is surprised to discover that Ryoma is, in fact, a girl. The two begin to become better friends as he shows her what she could have been as a girl, and she, in turn, draws him out from his ever-present mask. Fem!Ryoma/Tezuka, Scheming!Syusuuke, and, surprisigly, gentle!Atobe.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Because of a dark and shady accident in her past that led to the loss of two family members, who once was known as Ryoko Echizen began cross-dressing at the age of four and became known as Ryoma Echizen. Slowly, Ryoko Echizen began to replace herself as Ryoma Echizen. Nobody knew her secret therefore… until one Kunimitsu Tezuka found out. As the two get to know each other better, Ryoma Echizen begins to pull Tezuka out of his shell, and Tezuka manages to let Ryoma realize just exactly who she would have been as Ryoko.**

**Most scenes feature Ryoma as a boy. Minor Ryoko.**

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

Kunimitsu Tezuka had never been more mystified. Well, yes he has, but that was a long time ago.

In front of him crouched a small boy with a slender frame, black hair, and emerald green eyes. One hand was clutched on his cheek, while the other was squeezing his cap tightly.

What really threw Tezuka off was the fact that the boy's eyes were shining with tears. Okay, so he admitted he shouldn't have slapped him. Even if he deserved it. But the fact that he almost made somebody cry was extremely unnerving. Boys didn't cry, especially Ryoma Echizen.

Why then, was the person in front of him shaking in tears?

Wait, not in tears.

In… laughter…?

"Is that how people deal with situations back in Japan?" asked Ryoma, laughing humourlessly, pulling his cap low over his eyes. "Do you use violence against you inferiors?"

Kunimitsu Tezuka was, to say in the least, shocked. One moment ago, Ryoma Echizen had been close to crying, and the next he was mocking him. However, he settled with playing the usual cool and collected captain of the Seishun Gakuen's tennis team.

"It will teach you to know you place." A short, yet harshly phrased answer.

Ryoma smirked one of his trademark smirks.

"Very well, buchou," he bowed deeply to show respect for his senpai. "I just hope next time you might resort to less of a hands-on approach."

With that, he shouldered his equipment pack and stalked past his captain.

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

It was the day after they defeated Hyoutei in the competition for the spot in the Kantou tournament. Momo and Viper were busy debating whose fault it was that cost them the doubles game, while Eiji was entertaining Oishi with his acrobatic stunts. Sadaharu was chatting happily away with Fuji and telling him about the recent developments with the Inui juice, with Fuji smiling his trademark smile. You would only notice it was a grimace if you looked close enough. Kawamura, feeling sorry for him, decided to go bail him out.

In short, the regulars were being their usual goofy selves. Nobody seemed to notice the sudden chill of air spanning through the distance between the midget and the poker face, and nobody seemed to show any sign they knew of their encounter the previous evening. And, of course, they _were_ rather clueless, but that's beside the point.

The two athletes in question, however, were feeling rather awkward being in the same room as each other. Mr. Poker face was feeling awkward because of his shame of his actions the previous night. Ryoma, however, was feeling rather awkward because of something entirely different. I'm also pretty sure you would feel pretty awkward too if I told you why he was feeling awkward.

You see, as you begin to study the joy that is puberty, you being to study some… female functions. You will also learn that werewolves aren't the only ones that have their time of month. Well, I'll just leave it at that, as you'll probably realize what I'm talking about sooner or later.

Yes. Believe it or not, though we have been referring to him so far in this story as such, Ryoma Echizen was, in fact, _not _a he.

**(The rest of his team didn't know that, of course. As a matter of fact, the only people who knew besides himself – excuse me – herself was his – drats! – her father, and her cousin.**

**Of course, after those confusing two sentences, we now know nobody else knows of Ryoma's little secret, so let's refer to her as, once again, a boy now, shall we?)**

Therefore, it came to his immense displeasure when Ryuzaki Sensei walked in several minutes later to announce the beginning of practice. He didn't think he could put up with the cramps much longer, and he wanted to do nothing else except sit on a warm sofa with Karupin wrapped around his legs.

This, of course, was just plain wishful thinking.

"Gather round!" Tezuka called out. Being the hugely intimidating person that he was, the whole team did just that.

"First years, you're all on Court C practicing your racket strokes," the captain ordered. With that, the freshmen quickly scattered. "Others, let's start with a light rally."

Ryoma blew a sigh of relief. Looks like today wasn't going to be so bad. Perhaps he could make it through the day.

Yeah right.

"Regulars, give me fifty laps around the field. The Kantou tournaments are going to be no easier than the regionals, if not harder. Many of our losses were greatly because of low stamina, so we need to train ourselves to last longer on the court. And," here Tezuka's lips twitched slightly. _Slightly_. "The last one to make it through the finishing line gets a batch of Inui's freshly developed Inui juice."

Normally, this would've been a very inspiring and threatening speech. However, Ryoma was currently not in the mood.

On days like these, Ryoma had a simple tactic. Just follow the others and make sure you're not last. Usually Ryoma liked to go for the win, but he knew there was no way he could outrun Eiji senpai today.

Ryoma actually kept up with the others pretty well for the first ten laps or so. He also managed to fare pretty well for the twentieth lap. He got to the thirtieth lap in decent time too. By the thirty-fifth though, he began experiencing the pain in his sides. Deciding to shake it off in the last fifteen laps, he ignored it.

Apparently this was the type of cramp that got worse and worse, because by the thirty-eighth lap, he was ready to pass out.

And pass out he almost did, if it wasn't for a pair of strong arms that caught him before he fell.

"Are you okay, Echizen?" his Captain asked, looking quite concerned.

All previous pain forgotten, Echizen felt anger boil up inside him again, just like it did when Tezuka had slapped him. Pushing roughly away, he managed a few staggering steps.

"I'm fine," he muttered.

Not long after he uttered those words had he tripped over his shoelaces. His teammates had the decency to cover up their sniggers.

"Perhaps you should go home…" coach Ryuzaki suggested.

Ryoma nodded without complaint. With that, he gathered his stuff and stuffed them into his bag. After a quick bid of goodbye to the others around him, he quickly left.

The regulars all exchanged startled looks. Ryom Echizen, agree to miss practice? The only time that happened was when Karupin went missing.

"Do you think he couldn't take that many laps?" Momo asked, puzzled.

"No," Syusuke replied, looking equally as shocked. "Remember that time when he ran eighty straight laps without stopping or even taking a sip of water? He managed it before you and Kaido finished your match too. And you guys started playing before he started running. This should be nothing for him."

After several seconds of the team just staring, Tezuka sent them off to do whatever they were doing before Ryoma's accident. Nobody noticed how he himself slung his bag over his shoulder and quietly slipped away to see what Ryoma was up to.

**A/N: Well, that's the first chapter. Feel free to tell me what you'd like to see in this story, as I want to make it fairly long. No OOC, no badly written grammar, or anything that makes people think I'm a squealy ditzy drunk teenager. Which I'm not. **

**I plan on making this compliant to the original series but with as little of the original series as possible. If that makes sense.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so we last left off with Tezuka mysteriously disappearing from practice in order to follow Ryoma to see what he was up to.**

**I'll probably be updating once a week, as I've got quite a few chapters written and I have nothing better to do with my life. If I don't update, it either means I'm dead or a lazy bum. Don't worry, I have every intention of completing it.**

**Oh yeah, I'm not going to include the other teams that much, besides in tennis matches. Just thought you'd like to know before you keep on reading and find this not at all to your taste. I've read fanfics where they put something in the summary and the story ends up completely different. Really annoying.**

**Anyways, on with the story!**

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

Following Ryoma Echizen was not an easy task. He was especially paranoid, whipping around every few seconds as if trying to catch some person stalking him. With good reason of course, but still. Tezuka might have pulled a muscle from dodging behind so many pillars.

He had to admit it though, the kid was pretty smart. About a block from his house, Ryoma came to a sudden halt.

"I know you're following me, buchou."

Tezuka could practically see the smirk on his face. Honestly, how did the boy know these things? For once, Tezuka was at a loss for words.

Ryoma turned around, and, as Tezuka suspected, there was a smirk on his face. "You should be more careful. People would think you were a stalker, and we wouldn't want them to call the police now, do we?"

Little twerp.

"I was just thinking of why you would agree to skip practice," Tezuka defended. When the younger boy didn't respond, he leaned forward, searching his eyes.

Ryoma pulled his cap down lower over his eyes, shielding himself and the captain from view of each other. This caused his captain to frown. Reaching over, Tezuka made to pull the cap off Ryoma's head.

"NO!" Ryoma suddenly yelled, practically leaping backwards. "DON'T TOUCH MY CAP!"

Tezuka retreated, startled by his kouhei's sudden outburst. Ryoma really looked scared, his eyes terrified. For some strange reason, seeing Echizen this frightened brought a blunt pain to the center of his chest, where his heart was supposed to be. Hmm… how strange.

Deciding it was better to drop this subject and start a new one, Tezuka proceeded to do just that.

"Alright then, Echizen, since you and I both missed practice, why don't we have a match right now?"

At the sound of somebody offering a match, Ryoma perked up immediately. His heart rate slowed back to a normal speed, and he nodded. With that, the two stubbornly arrogant tennis players made their way to a nearby tennis court.

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

"Come on Echizen, pick up the pace!" Tezuka called, looking quite bored. "I don't want to beat you in less than ten minutes! That'll be a pathetic excuse for the pillar of Seigaku!"

This got Ryoma serious. You could actually see his eyes spark up. It was quite creepy, nevertheless still effective as he quickly caught up to the pace. Their rally was going quite well… until…

"Nice try Echizen, but this point is mine!" Tezuka growled, unleashing the full power of his zero gravity drop shot.

And it would have been his point too, if not for Ryoma suddenly leaping towards the net, determined to get the ball. His racket caught it, scooping it up over the net. It was Ryoma's point.

"Not bad, Echizen," Tezuka commented.

But Ryoma didn't seem to hear him. He was frozen, his head bowed low, facing the ground. Tezuka could see his knees were scraped along with his palm. The dive seemed to take quite the toll on him.

"Echizen, are you okay?"

He froze too. The crash into the net had knocked Echizen's hat off his head, and it now lay motionless beside him, quite crumpled. But that was not important.

The important thing was the minute the cap was swept off his head, long, silky, raven-black locks of hair spilled out, falling below his shoulders and reaching his waist.

"Echizen… why do you have long hair?"

He had a sick sensation in his stomach that he already knew the answer. When Echizen stared up at him with those large emerald orbs of his, it only confirmed his suspicion.

"Because, buchou, you see… I'm not a boy."

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

"Care to tell me why you were cross-dressing as a boy?" asked Tezuka angrily. He didn't like being tricked. "Why would you dress up as a boy to join the boy's tennis team?"

Glaring at her captain coolly, Ryoma picked up her cap.

"Don't flatter yourself. I was a boy long before I met you."

This caused Tezuka to frown. "Really? Explain."

Ryoma took a deep breath to steady herself.

"My birth name was Ryoko Echizen, but I haven't been called that for a long time already. You see, Ryoma Echizen was my brother. He was my father's pride and joy, destined for greatness in the tennis world. He was eight when he died in the car crash."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Tezuka asked insensitively, not noticing how Ryoma's eyes were downcast and clouded over with memories. She, however, continued on like she was never interrupted.

"Dad was devastated. Mom died in the accident too, so I was the only one left. I think the fact that he lost half his family finally made him crack. As I was only four, not many people knew me, so dad began training me to learn tennis, just like he did Ryoma. I began to compete in competitions like Ryoma did too. Eventually, I _became_ Ryoma." Here, her voice cracked, but she continued talking.

"He refused to acknowledge me as anyone else anyways." She raised her eyes, staring straight into Tezuka's, as if she were communicating some unspoken message to him. "Trust me, I never meant to trick you. I practically _am_a boy... this was normal for me. Just like the rest of my life."

Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but Tezuka thought he sensed bitterness in her voice. Slowly, against his better judgement, Tezuka nodded.

Ryoma (he refused to call him Ryoko, even in his head, it was just plain weird), looked relieved that her captain believed her. But Tezuka still had one last question for her.

"What's with your cap?"

Ryoma grinned. She pulled up her hair as if to tie it up; instead of tying it up though, placed her cap over her head. Her hair fanned out, falling just at chin level, making her look like a boy again. However, her grin quickly disappeared, replaced by a nervous expression as if she were a thief caught in the act.

"Don't tell anyone," she whispered, looking down, which was a very unRyoma-ish posture indeed. "And promise to pretend I'm a boy, even when nobody else is around."

Tezuka considered for a moment, then nodded.

"I promise."

**Okay, a new chapter. I would have updated this one yesterday to start you guys off, but you'd probably know was experiencing some difficulties.**

**Remember to leave your opinions and ideas!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So most of you probably thought I went and died somewhere, seeing as I last updated, like, a couple of months ago, despite my promises that I was going to be updating one a week. Like I said, I take pride in my writing, and the week I posted this story my English teacher gave us a lesson on writing FANFICTION, so I took the opportunity to rewrite all the other stories that I took down.**

**It also doesn't help that I moved just three weeks ago, and we didn't have internet, but… Fear not, I'm back, and you can flame me if it ever takes me this long to update again.**

**BTW, this is more of a gag chapter than anything else, so don't expect major advances on the plot. It's just that the next chapter will be fairly angsty, and since I'm not good at writing angst (it's just not me!), this chapter will make up for it. Don't worry angst haters, next chapter's probably the only angsty part for a long time to come.**

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

Two days. Two days Kunimitsu Tezuka knew about Ryoma's secret and two nights he spent tossing and turning in bed, trying in vain to get his annoying conscience to shut up.

_You know it's against the rules, Kunimitsu,_ his conscience would say, _girls are not allowed on the boys' tennis team, that's why they have teams for both genders._

And then Tezuka would reply, Ryoma's been a boy for most of her – his! – life. He practically is a boy, and there's no rule against having a boy on the boys' tennis team.

_Yes,_ his conscience would then say, not budging an inch. _Perhaps mentally Ryoma's a boy, but biologically he's a girl._

To which Kunimitsu would reply with a rather uncharacteristic, Shut up!

_Why are you fighting so hard with yourself to keep him on the team anyways, Kunimitsu?_ His conscience asked sleepily one night. _I'm sure Seigaku could get to the nationals without him._

It took him a while before he finally answered.

I don't think it'll do to kick one of our best players off the team for no apparent reason at all. And Mr. Echizen wouldn't be pleased.

_That's all?_

Kunimitsu hesitated.

What do you mean by that?

_Are you sure there's no other reason? _His conscience asked slyly. _Maybe because you're starting to get attached to the kid?_

Kunimitsu sat up so suddenly he almost broke his back.

"No!" he yelled loudly, not even registering that he didn't do so in his mind. In fact, it wasn't until his mother rushed into his room brandishing a tennis racquet like a sword that he realized he had spoken (or rather, yelled), aloud.

Embarrassed, he muttered something about a nightmare before pulling the covers over his head, leaving Mrs. Tezuka shaking her head fondly.

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

The days were, if possible, even worse than the nights. It was becoming increasingly awkward to be in the presence of Ryoma, because how were you supposed to assign laps to a girl?

Of course, Kunimitsu was more than certain that Ryoma could eat those laps for lunch, and that he was supposed to be treating him like a boy, but all the same.

In order not to arouse any suspicion as to why Ryoma got less laps than anyone else, Kunimitsu resorted to assigning half the regular amount of laps than usual for everybody, even the regulars, who had another match coming up in a couple of weeks.

This act of kindness didn't go unnoticed by the regulars.

"Nehh", Eiji said, unzipping his tennis bag, "did anyone notice how Tezuka's unnaturally soft on us ever since we beat Hyotei?"

"Hunh, yeah," Syusuke frowned, though his eyes were still half-closed, "you don't think it's because we entered the Kantou tournament, do you? I mean, he's not one to give people a break."

"No," Inui agreed. "If that were the case, he'd be assigning us _more_ laps more than anything else." Scanning his notes, he added, "he'd be telling us to work even harder now that we're past the regionals."

Momo and Kaidoh chose this moment to walk in bickering like an old married couple.

"… because of his arm!"

"No, that impossib - "

"How's it impossible? I mean, I've read somewhere that broken limbs do weird things to a person's mental health."

"Our captain's _not_ crazy!" Kaidoh said angrily.

"I never said he was - "

"Hi guys!" Oishi called across the court, trying to stop them from making such a commotion during practice.

"Discussing why Tezuka's turned so nice all of a sudden?" Syusuke asked them. "We were just wondering the same thing."

"Though…" Eiji looked thoughtful. "If it really _was_ his arm that made him go easy on us…"

"Don't even think about it, Eiji!" Oishi scolded in a motherly fashion, causing his doubles partner to cringe.

"Don't even think about what?" asked another voice. Ryoma had just entered the courts, searching for any sign of Ryuzaki sensei or Tezuka buchou, as he was sure they would be displeased that he was _once again_ late for practice.

Inui turned towards the youngest of the regulars. "Do _you_ know why Tezuka's so lenient on us all of a sudden?"

Ryoma only shrugged. "Beats me".

And yet, the rest of his teammates had a feeling that he didn't quite meet their eyes when he said that. Then again, he never really made eye-contact with anybody, as his cap was always pulled low over his eyes.

And so, just like that, practice started, with the regulars still wondering why Tezuka suddenly gone soft.

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

Rarely did Kunimitsu ever show his expressions on his face. When he scraped his knee when he was five, he just walked straight to a nearby sink, washed of the blood and dirt, wrapped it up in a bandage, then walked home to get his tennis racquet to practice his strokes.

When he accidentally fell in the lake when he was seven, he hoisted himself back out, assured his parents he was fine, wrapped himself in a towel, dried himself off, then went home to get his racquet to practice his strokes.

When he was nine and fell asleep on the underground, he merely asked the police station how take the bus back to his home, refused assistance from the concerned officers, arrived back home several hours later, then went up to his room to get his racquet to practice his strokes.

When he was twelve and his bones were nearly pulverized by the racquet of his senpai, he chastised them, made them feel ashamed of themselves, went home, got his racquet, practiced his strokes, then left for his match with his fellow first year Syusuke Fuji.

Nevertheless, this didn't mean that he didn't have feelings.

In fact, he was now feeling quite stupid.

How could he have been such an idiot? Of course his teammates would find it strange that the strictest captain in all of middle school tennis history abruptly ceased the torturous endurance trainings.

But it was still awkward to be too hard on a girl…

Quite suddenly, Kunimitsu slapped himself in an attempt to hit some sense back into himself. Evidently this did nothing but attract some rather bewildered stares from the club members.

At the end of the practice, Kunimitsu made his mind up; he was going to have a talk with the now Ryoma Echizen.

**Heehee, left you with another cliffee, though I'm going to update faster now. So no worries, right? Hardee har har har har har.**

**Remember to leave your comments and suggestions in you reviews! Thanks for the support!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yeah, ****I****'****m ****not ****good ****with ****this ****updating ****thing, ****am ****I ? ****Well, ****at ****least ****this ****chapter****'****s ****a ****bit ****longer. ****By ****the ****way, ****I ****tried ****to ****keep ****the ****characters ****as ****in ****character ****as ****possible, ****but ****it ****just ****doesn****'****t ****seem ****to ****be ****working. ****Well, ****after ****this ****and ****the ****next c****hapter, ****we ****can ****get ****to ****the ****fun ****stuff, ****and ****then ****they****'****ll ****be ****in ****character ****again!**

**By the way, I'm all up for anyone who has an idea for any of the chapters and wants me to squeeze it into the story.**

_**The **__**Prince **__**of **__**Tennis**_

"Aah, you must be Ryoma's captain."

Currently, Tezuka was at the Echizen household. A monk dressed in baggy black clothes and no shoes was at the door.

"Yes," Tezuka bowed his head. "I was wondering if I could speak with him."

The monk smirked. "I'll go get him for you. You can come in, if you want," he added, when he made to turn around and Tezuka didn't follow him.

Tezuka followed the monk into the living room and propped his school bag next to the couch He then proceeded to sit on the sofa, taking in Ryoma's house while he was at it.

His kouhai's house was a modest one, decorated in a way that didn't suit the Echizens, yet for some crazy reason it still had what one would expect the Echizens' house to have.

As he gazed around the room, a long haired girl came into the room. At first, Tezuka thought that it was Ryoma, but upon closer look he realized that she was much taller than she was. Then Tezuka realized that, given what Ryoma had said last week, his father would probably never let her wear her hair down.

"Hello, I'm Nanako," she introduced herself. "I'm Ryoma's cousin."

"Aah," Tezuka inclined his head, his pokerface still on even though Nanako was very pretty, and any other guy would be immediately trying to charm her.

At that moment, two loud voices drifted downstairs, causing Nanako – and, although he would never admit it, Tezuka – to jump.

"…you have been acting strange, boy, ever since last week," was said with the monk's voice

"No, not strange, merely depressed," was Ryoma's reply. Tezuka bit down hard on his tongue to stop himself from smiling. That was such a typical reaction from Ryoma.

"Oh," said the monk, and Tezuka thought that he could hear him grin through his voice. "Are you having girl troubles then?"

There was silence. And then…

"I'm _not_ a homosexual!" came Ryoma's furious voice, and Tezuka could almost imagine her green eyes sparking with fury.

"I never said you were a homosexual," a confused voice protested. "Isn't it natural for a boy to like girls around your age?"

"Oh dear," Nanako looked up worriedly. "They've reached _that_ topic again."

Tezuka had a shrewd idea what 'that' topic might be, though he hoped he was wrong. He was already feeling quite awkward, and as he shifted uncomfortably, he felt as though coming here was a bad idea.

"Oh, yes, _boys_ my age like girls," Ryoma's voice returned to her normally calm and uncaring tone, dropping down a couple of octaves to match the one he used at school. "Only, I'm not a boy. You can check my birth certificate."

"What do you mean?" asked the monk. "Of course you're a boy!"

Suddenly, the sound of feet pounding against the floor. Tezuka turned his head and saw Ryoma storming down the stairs.

"I'm going out!" he called, jamming his feet into his running shoes and shouldering on his tennis bag. The door slammed shut behind them.

"Well, that went better than usual," Nanako mused, "it seems as if Ryoma's learning to hold her temper more."

Tezuka had no idea how to reply to this, as his impression of Ryoma was one without emotions except for tennis, quite like himself.

The monk came down the stairs a couple of minutes later.

"…have no idea what's wrong with the boy, honestly…" he muttered, running a hand through his unkempt hair. He looked up suddenly, as if just remembering that Tezuka was there.

"Aah, you were looking for Ryoma, weren't you?" he asked. "Yeah… he just went out. You might still be able to catch him if you leave right now. The boy usually likes to walk slowly and curse under his breath when he's angry."

Bowing, Tezuka thanked the monk – which he now realized was Ryoma's dad – and exited the house. Turning his head from left to right, he spotted a small figure dressed in a Seigaku uniform turn around a corner.

Silently, Tezuka followed him, not sure if Ryoma wanted to be left alone or not.

Mr. Echizen's prediction proved to be true. Ryoma was walking agonizingly slowly, keeping her head bowed low. Her cap was thrown carelessly over her head so that her hair almost reached her shoulders, hanging a bit lower than she usually kept it.

She was muttering quickly under her breath in English, so that Tezuka couldn't completely understand what she was saying. However, as her pacing was very slow, he was able to catch up to her quickly, and he could catch a couple of words like 'conceited' and 'inconsiderate', though he had no idea what they meant.

"…don't get what's going on in his head. Really, did he bang his head when he fell reading those porno magazines? It's as if he really thinks I'm a guy… And I would appreciate it if you stopped stalking me, captain," she said the last part in japanese so Tezuka could understand her.

"I was merely observing," Tezuka stole Inui's excuse for following people around in a rather creepy manner.

Ryoma turned around to face him. "Neh, captain, want to play some tennis?"

_**The **__**Prince **__**of **__**Tennis**_

Playing tennis with Ryoma always sparked something inside of Tezuka's chest. Honestly speaking, Tezuka had played with players much more experienced than her, yet the captain of Seigaku had a feeling that if he wasn't careful, Ryoma might even rise above him.

This was exactly why Tezuka wanted to train Ryoma harder than anything else. Honing her abilities would create an athlete that would shake the world of tennis.

"Your shots aren't hard enough!" Ryoma called, her trademark arrogant smirk upon her face. "Come on, is that all you've got?"

Annoyance swelled up in Tezuka. His eyes flashed behind his glasses, and he assumed the 'Zero Shiki Drop Shot' stance. Swiping his racket in a parallel fashion to the ground, he hit the ball across the net.

Knowing what was coming next, Ryoma's eyes widened as she rushed forward towards the net. She was too late, as the ball dropped to the ground and, without even bouncing once, rolled backwards to the net.

"That's another love-game to me," Tezuka peered over his glasses sternly. "You aren't even trying, are you?"

Her smirk dropping, Ryoma pulled off her cap. Taken aback, Tezuka couldn't help but stare as the silky curtain of hair fell past Ryoma's shoulders. This was the first time he paid attention to Ryoma's long hair, as the only other time he had seen it was when he was in a state of shock from finding out about her true gender.

"Didn't you say you don't like it when your hair's down?" Tezuka asked her, and managing to keep his face its usual wooden mask with a lot of effort.

"When did I say that?" Ryoma asked, looking innocent. "When did I say that?"

As Tezuka could not actually remember Ryoma specifically saying she liked her hair tucked in her cap, he cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Stop avoiding my question. Why aren't you trying to win even a point against me?"

Ryoma's smirk was back on full force. "If I remember correctly, it was _you_ who asked _me_ if I liked my hair up."

Tezuka glared. "Echizen."

"Fine, fine. But you already know the answer, don't you, captain?"

"I thought you liked being referred to as a boy. Why be angry at your father then?"

Spinning around, Ryoma's eyes flashed. "Yes, I like being referred to as a boy by my peers. But that's only so that I can get used to my father referring to me as a boy."

This left Tezuka in a rather awkward position indeed. He cleared his throat. "I see," he said.

"I just wish I knew what it was like to be a girl though," Ryoma flung her head back to stare at the clouds. "Well, not the girls in our school. I mean, who makes a fan club for the members of the boys' tennis team?" she shuddered at the memory of Tomoko shrieking in excitement whenever he walked onto the court.

"And if they're not obssessing makeup or other things, they're all so reserved. I mean, I asked a girl in my class if I could borrow her math textbook, and…"

"And?" Tezuka asked curiously.

"And she pushed her book towards me before fleeing down the hallway."

It took much of Tezuka's self sontrol to hide his amusement. He still managed to keep a straight face though. After all, he did manage not to show his disgust when he drank the Inui vegetable juice.

"Well, you're also very reserved yourself," Tezuka pointed out. "You barely interact with anyone besides Momoshiro, and you don't speak that much, even to him.'

Quirking an eyebrow, Ryoma tilted his head to the side. "And how do you propose I remember to keep my voice deep all the time if I talk a lot?"

It was only then that Tezuka realized Ryoma's voice was a couple octaves higher than it usually was at school.

"Besides, I just want to know if I would still turn out to be how I am now, or if I would be just the same as the love-sick girls at school if my brother never…"

Tezuka thought for a moment. Then, suddenly, he pulled Ryoma by the arm.

"Come one, let's go," Tezuka put away their rackets and zipped up their bags, before resuming pulling Ryoma behind him.

"Hey, where do you think you're taking me?" Ryoma asked, his usual attitude returning.

"You'll see," was the only answer he got.

**Heh ****heh,****the ****next ****chapter****'****s ****going ****to ****be ****very ****interesting. ****Interesting ****as ****in ****you ****would ****all ****form ****an ****angry ****mob ****and ****flame ****me ****if ****I ****don****'****t ****update.**

**Or maybe I'm just being too arrogant. Ah well, I just know the next chapter will be fun to write.**

**Leave your ideas for me so I can put them in a chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh no! It's twenty-twelve! Everyone run for your lives! ****AAAAUUUUURRRRGGGGGHHHHH!**

**Right, so it's the first day of New Years, at least in Ontario anyways. and guess what my resolution is? To make longer and more frequent updates! Huzzah!**

**Important: To avoid confusion for me, Ryoma with his cap on shall be referred to as a boy. Ryoko without her cap shall be referred to as a girl.**

**_The Prince of Tennis_**

_I'm so stupid,_ Tezuka berated himself. _I am so stupid_.

What was he doing right now? Dragging a twelve year old girl to who knows where. Out of the corners of his eyes, he could see Ryoko peering at him curiously through her long curtain of hair. This only made him more desperate to take her somewhere interesting. He didn't think he could bare the disappointed look on her face if he brought her someplace boring.

Okay, so he admitted it. He was socially challenged, despite being rather popular among both boys and girls alike.

Finally, he decided to swallow his pride. "Where would you like to go?" he asked.

Ryoko looked up at him mockingly.

"I though you said 'I'll see' where you were taking me?"

His eyebrows knitting together and nearly growling (_nearly_, because growling at girls wasn't a very gentlemanly thing to do, and Tezuka's reputation was a known gentlemen), Tezuka spun around to face his teammate. "You know I'm doing this to cheer you up. The least you could do is cooperate with me."

"I guess that's true," Ryoko shrugged. "But honestly speaking, I don't know where to go either. Where do other girls go in their free time?"

"I know just about as much as you do. Maybe... the mall?"

From Ryoko's expression, it was obvious that she rarely went to the mall, the only exception was when it was mandatory to go shopping for new clothes. Tezuka almost laughed at her clueless expression.

"The-the mall?" she stuttered. "My classmates would go to the mall in groups back in America too."

"We could go if you want..." Tezuka proposed awkwardly. He _really_ wasn't good with these things.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ryoko exclaimed with a sudden burst of energy. "Let's go!"

And with that, she took off with a sprint towards the mall, laughing, leaving Tezuka chasing after her.

_**The Prince of**__** Tennis**_

The two tennis prodigies arrived at the mall gasping and panting, doubling over with exhaustion, attracting many bizarre looks from passersby.

"I... have never been... so exhausted... in my entire life..." Ryoko panted, leaning on a nearby pillar for support. Said pillar flinched away, not used to be leaned on*.

"Well," Tezuka explained, embarrassed, "we _did_ run about twelve blocks here. You live really far from the mall, you know."

Ryoko actually snorted in laughter. "Why do you think I only go to the mall once a year?"

Tezuka didn't have the heart to answer honestly, as he had thought it was another one of Ryoma's attempts on becoming more like a boy.

"There's an ice-cream kiosk over there," he decided to change the subject. "Would you like some?"

At this, Ryoko's eyes positively lit up, much to Tezuka's amusement.

"Um... okay," she attempted to look as if she wasn't the least bit excited, but Tezuka could tell from her sparkling eyes that she adored ice-cream. They walked up to the vendor, shere Tezuka quickly rummaged in his bag for his wallet.

""What would you like?" Tezuka asked Ryoko.

"I'll take whatever you take," Ryoko reached up to pull her cap lower over her eyes, before quickly remembering that she wasn't wearing it.

Tezuka turned back to the vendor. "Two sundaes please."

The man at the counter repeated the order to a younger worker, who was standing by the ice-cream machine. He then typed in the order.

"That would be 750 yen**," the man told them, , handing them their sundaes carefully. At this, Ryoko reached into her wallet and pulled out 375 yen.

"What are you doing?" Tezuka asked her.

"...paying for mine..."

Tezuka stared at her. "You don't have to... I'll pay."

Ryoko scoffed. "Che, don't be ridiculous. I'm perfectly able to pay on my own." Before Tezuka could say anything else, Ryoko practically shoved the money into Tezuka's hands and quickly walked away. Sighing, Tezuka handed the money to the vendor along with his money before trailing after her.

"So where do you want to go first?" Tezuka asked after several moments of silence. He could see Ryoko turning her head from side to side, taking in all the different stores.

"Well, why don't we go here?" she gestured at a clothing store with big letters at the top, spelling out _METAMORPHOSE_. Tezuka looked a bit uneasy, though only if you looked very closely.

"If you say so then."

Once they walked in, Ryoko looked around the store in amazement. "This store's huge," she whispered. "But what are we supposed to do here?"

Tezuka raised an eyebrow. She was kidding, right? Even he knew what you were supposed to do when shopping for clothes. Though he supposed growing up only with a somewhat neglectful father did have its toll.

"Well, you just look around for clothes you like. And once you see something you like, you try it on and see if it fits you."

Cocking her head to the side curiously, Ryoko's eyes grazed the clothing."Then can I try this on?" she asked innocently, pointing at a pair of ridiculous looking pink pants with red hearts and rainbows.

At Tezuka's slightly horrified expression, Ryoko couldn't help but laugh.

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

"You know," Ryoko mused thoughtfully, "I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything, but shopping really is boring."

"Yes, I suppose I really should have brought you somewhere else, seeing your personality," Tezuka agreed.

"Let's go browse in some other stores then," Ryoko offered.

"Like what?"

"How about.. let's go th - " suddenly, Ryoko froze, her eyes transfixed on something. Following her gaze, Tezuka felt his blood run cold.

In the aisle opposite theirs, Eiji, Syusuuke, Inui, and Momoshiro were chatting animatedly, thankfully not noticing them yet.

"Quick, in here," Tezuka whispered, pulling Ryoma into a nearby store - some American clothing brand called _Aeropostale_*** - and hid behind the rack of clothes.

"What are _they_ doing here?" Ryoko panicked, peeking through a gap between two racks.

"Well, guys need to go shopping sometimes too, don't they?" Tezuka reasoned, his face still a stoic mask even though his heart was hammering harder against his ribs than the mallet against the board on a round of whack-a-mole. Well, that wasn't a very good analogy, though Tezuka hardly thought it was the time to chastise himself for using stupid metaphors.

The duo's ears pricked up as they heard Eiji's loud voice travel through the bustling of the noisy crowd.

"Neh! Guys, let's go to that store! I heard it's a very popular icon from where o'chibi used to live!"

"Oh cra - uh, darn," Ryoko quickly corrected herself as Tezuka shot her a disapproving look. "They're going to recognize me!"

"Not really, you _do _look somewhat different with your hair down," Tezuka pointed out, causing Ryoko to stare at him for a long time, as if he were crazy.

"Captain Tezuka, I'm wearing _Seigaku's tennis uniform_," Ryoko exaggerated the last three words very slowly. Tezuka mentally facepalmed himself. Then a wild idea struck him, as most wild ideas do when you're in a panic. He knew that Ryoko might not like this idea, but even she had to admit that it was better safe than sorry.

He turned his head slowly to look at Ryoko

"Ryoma - I mean, Ryoko, you know that we're in a clothing store, right?"

Ryoko looked at her, then a look of comprehension dawned on her face.

"Oh no, uh uh" she shook her head violently. "I am _not_ going to wear these clothes." For as it was currently summer, the clothing racks were full of tight t-shirts, skirts, and converses.

"It's either that or reveal your secret," Tezuka told her sternly. He willed his face not to give in to Ryoko's desperate and pleading look.

"Fine," Ryoko gave in after seeing there was no way out. She grabbed a t-shirt, a thin sweater, a skirt, and a pair of converse as she made her way to the change room.

"Quickly!" the captain called after her in his deep voice, as the four other members of his tennis team approached even closer. He saw Ryoko brake into a run. The second the door of the change room slammed behind her, Tezuka heard Syusuuke call out to him.

"Tezuka!" the genius exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I... uh..." For the second time in his life, Tezuka was at a loss for words.

Inui's glasses flashed, and Tezuka felt as if he knew what was coming.

"Indeed, you don't seem to be the kind of person who would shop here," the freakishly tall fifteen-year-old observed. "This would make some good data," he added as he pulled out a pen and his notebook from nowhere.

Okay, it was now or never, as Ryoko woas sure to be done changing soon, and the lie he was planning would seem more improbable if he were to say it after everyone saw the Ryoma look-a-like.

"Actually," Tezuka interrupted Inui, who was in the middle of jotting down this new piece of information, "I came here along with my cousin. Her family's visiting from America, and she prefers to go shopping in American stores."

Faintly, he heard Ryoko choke in surprise.

"Your cousin?" Inui asked, looking suspicious. "I don't have that in my data..."

Momoshiro, who was usually slightly more timid around his captain than usual, looked at him sympathetically. "Captain, it's okay if you like American icons. We won't think any less of you just because you're into mainstream fashion."

This caused Tezuka to shoot such a poisonous look at him that Momoshiro actually gave a yell of fear.

"Actually," said a cheerful voice from behind the five friends, "Kunimitsu wasn't lying. I actually do exist."

The five regulars spun around and saw a young girl standing by the change rooms. She had waist-length black hair and large amber eyes, wearing a black t-shirt and a long-sleeved pale-blue sweater with a zipper and a red skirt that reached slightly above her knees. To tie everything together, she wore a pair of converse the same shade of blue as her sweater. Tezuka had to admit, the girl had a great sense of fashion.

In other words, Ryoko looked simply dashing. Even Eiji was silent, who usually had more to say at the top of his head than the president after preparing a long and extravagant speech. Finally, Syusuuke decided to break the silence.

"Sa~ Kunimitsu, your cousin looks a lot like Ryoma," he observed, looking carefully at Ryoko's face.

"Oh, really?" Ryoko asked, looking not even the least bit worried. Quite the contrary, she looked as if she had been given the highest praise yet. "Neh, Kunimitsu, isn't Ryoma that handsome and talented tennis player on your team you were telling me about?"

Ah, so that was her plan.

Tezuka cleared his throat. "Yes, well, this is my cousing... Kunimatsu Tezuka."

"Kunimatsu..." Inui muttered, "ins't that a boy's name?"

If Tezuka thought this would affect Ryoko's mood, he was sorely mistaken.

"Yes, it is," Ryoko replied, still smiling so widely it was enough to rival Syusuuke's, and that was saying something. "Which is why My family members call me Kunie for short."

"Say, Kuni! Since we're all here, let's go shopping together!" Eiji exclaimed excitedly (even though he was always excited).

"Yes, I think that is a great idea," Inui grinned evilly, fingering his notebook.

"Where were you guys heading after this?" Momoshiro asked them curiously.

"Oh, nowhere really," Ryoko - or rather, Kunie - shrugged. "Where are you guys thinking of going?"

Eiji's face lit up. "Then let's go to the arcade!"

"I agree!"

"Yes, let's go to the arcade."

"Great idea Eiji! I can collect lots of data there..."

"I'll just change out of this," Ry - Kunie gestured at her clothes before dashing back into the change room.

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

"Are you coming cousin?" Kunie asked, when all five of them were about to leave, Kunimitsu still lagging behind.

"You can go first," Tezuka told them, "I'll be just a sec."

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

"Take that!" Kunie yelled, slammin the puck towards Tezuka's goal.

With a fine expertise that he had acquired when learning tennis, Tezuka swept the puck back towards Kunie's goal with a lazy flick of his hand. The other regulars were off playing other games, with the excepting of Inui, who saw this as a great opportunity for collecting data on his captain and his cousing. Not that Tezuka would give him the chance, of course.

As the puck slid into Kunie's slot, the lights ofver the air hockey arena began flashing in the sirens started blaring.

"Winner! Winner! Winner!" the automatic voice system called out.

"Kind of strange how I still lose to you, even though we're not playing tennis, isn't it?" Kunie muttered to Tezuka.

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

"Come on, just a little bit further Eiji senior!" Momoshiro yelled, slapping the back of Eiji's chair. Currently, Syusuuke and Eiji were racing cars in the arcade, with Syusuuke in the lead and Eiji at a close second. "You're almost there!"

Syusuuke's smile grew wider as he accelerated his speed by putting more pressure on the gas pedal. Eiji, who was always easy to rile up, followed suite in increasing his speed. As they rounded the corner, Syusuuke suddenly ceased all pressure on his pedal, causing his car to slow down drastically.

"WWAAH!" Eiji exclaimed as his car was driven off the cliff. "That wasn't fair Syusuuke! You did that on purpose!" The tennis prodigy merely smiled in return.

Inui pushed his glasses up his nose and resumed scribbling notes in his notebook. Kunie grinned.

"Eiji senior never learns, does he?"

_**The Prince of**_** _Tennis_**

"Well, it's getting late," Inui told them. "Momoshiro, Syusuuke, Eiji, we'd better go."

Eiji looked slightly crestfallen. "Neh, I guess you're right..."

"Yeah, we'd better leave," Momoshiro agreed.

As they prepared to leave, Syusuuke looked at the 'Tezuka cousins'. "Sa~ Kunimitsu, you're not going home?"

"No," Tezuka shook his head, "we're just going to be a little longer. You can leave first."

"Okay, if that's so then," Eiji shrugged. "See you tomorrow at school Kunimitsu! It was nice meeting you Kunie!"

"It was nice meeting you all too," Kunie smiled, waving at them. As soon as they were gone, she collapsed into a nearby chair at the restaurant part of the mall.

"Being cheerful and smiling all the time sure is tiring."

Tezuka looked at her in amusement. "You sure are a great actor. Were you pretending to be that cheerful all along?"

Looking at him in surprise, Ryoko shook her head, sitting up a little straighter. "Of course not! I actually _was_ enjoying myself! It's just that I had to make 'Kunie' as different as possible than Ryoma, didn't I? Or else they would suspect something."

"I guess that's true," Tezuka sipped his drink. "Oh yes, that reminds me." He reached behind his seat and pulled out a bag. Ryoko's eyes grew even wider.

"Oh my goodness," she breathed. Inside the bag were the clothes she had tried on earlier that day, wrapped carefully in paper tissue. "You didn't. What the heck did you buy me these for?"

"Well, I suppose you don't have any girl's clothes," Tezuka explained. "So I got these for you. Just in case you need to wear these."

"Thank you," Ryoko murmured, tracing the sleeve of the sweater. Tezuka nodded.

"I suppose I should get you home now," Tezuka glanced at his watch. "Your dad would probably kill me."

Ryoko's face darkened slightly, and Tezuka knew immediately that this was the wrong thing to say. "He wouldn't care anyways." A second later though, Ryoko was beaming at him again.

"Want to race back to my house?"

"No."

"Aww, you're so mean Captain Tezuka."

Tezuka didn't soften one bit. "It's late, and it's dark out. Something could happen to you. I'll walk you home, so it's safer."

For some reason unknown to her, these words seemed to bring a warm feeling in Ryoko's chest.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so now it's forty-five minutes past the first day of New Year, but close enough, eh?<strong>

***In case no one got it, the 'pillar' was Tezuka.**

********I have no idea how much ice-cream costs in Japan, and this was all from research.**

*****Once again, as I am not from Japan, I don't know if they have Aeropostale there (I highly doubt it). Also, I came across Metamorphose while researching Japanese fashion, so I no next to nil about it.**

**IMPORTANT: No, I don't want this story to go too fast, so Ryoma and Kunimitsu don't have romantic feelings for each other yet. Kunimitsu feels a slight affection for Ryoma just like in canon, and the same goes for Ryoma to Kunimitsu. Also, as not to make Kunimitsu to OOC, please picture him with a board-stiff** **expression when you're reading about him. And the same goes for Ryoma, so please picture him saying everything in a snarky/canon Ryoma-ish way. Thank You for your cooperation!**

**Read and review, I is needs lotso ideas.  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Ryoma shall be referred to as a boy in this chapter. I don't know why. Just an impulse :D. And I know, I know, uber long Hiatus. I'm so sorry, but I hope this longer-than-usual chapter makes up for it.**

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

"Mr. Echizen, did you even hear a single thing I said?" Mr. Sato shouted, slamming his palm down on Ryoma's desk.

With a jerk, Ryoma sat up straight on his desk, wiping a bit of drool of his chin. "Huh?" he asked, confused.

"Really, Mr. Echizen, I can understand you falling asleep in English, but even you have to admit you need to pay attention in math."

Blinking, Ryoma replied, "Oh, sorry." Then, "what were you saying again?"

Mr. Sato sighed, resigned to Ryoma's attitude once and for all.

"I _said_, due to the appallingly low marks this class has received," with a pointed look at Ryoma, who bombed almost all the math quizzes that were dished out, "I have requested weekly tutoring classes with 3-1. Trust me, I would have scheduled Japanese tutoring lessons now," (another pointed look at Ryoma), "but... well, we're hindering class 3-1 enough."

Ignoring his teacher's jibes, Ryoma widened his eyes a bit in an attempt to wake himself up, stifling a yawn.

"And here they are!" exclaimed Mr. Sato excitedly. "Ah, Mr. Akita, do come in, come in." Which was completely unnecessary, of course, as Mr. Akita was already making his way into the class, a single file line of students following behind him.

Being anti-social as he was, there wasn't a single person he recognized, so he immediately lost any previously held interest, however minimal it was. Except...

Oh. Well. So Tezuka was in class 3-1. Who would've thought.

Locking eyes with his captain for a while, Ryoma casually considered how terrible it would be if he were to be partnered up with him. Losing to him on the tennis courts was one thing, but having to show his pathetic skills in mathematics was another.

But his luck wasn't that foul, right?

Hardee har har har.

"Now, each of the upperclassmen have a slip of paper with a number on it. I will now pass out to each of you a slip of paper to match you up with a tutor."

As Mr. Sato made his way around the room, Ryoma observed as his fellow classmates who have already received letters scan the line of third years.

"I sure hope I don't get Tezuka-sama," Horio, who sat beside Ryoma, whispered. "He's scary enough during tennis practice."

Ryoma 'hmm'ed in agreement, but his attention was caught by Mr. Sato, who was now approaching their row.

Mr. Sato peered at the slip before smirking and passing it to Ryoma. "You're in good luck," he chuckled, "I believe you'll be improving by the end of the month."

Interested, the rest of the class turned in their seats to watch their idol peer at his paper nonchalantly at his number. And whiten. And glance up at the upperclassmen to check again, only to whiten even more.

Mr. Sato only grinned and continued passing out numbers. Ryoma didn't even pay much attention to Horio, who was quietly simpering because he picked the number of the prettiest girl in class 3 - 1.

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

It was to Kunimitsu Tezuka's great credit that his face remained the impassive mask as he flipped through Ryoma's workbook.

"Well..." he muttered, "this probably has more 'x's than on an archive of treasure maps, but..."

Despite feeling slightly embarrassed, Ryoma chuckled. "That was a horrible analogy," he muttered back.

"It's surprising that somebody who pushes yourself so far in tennis, you have unbelievably low marks."

"It's just math and Japanese, I ace everything else."

"Uh huh. Care to explain why you got 134 by multiplying 12 and 12 together? You would've gotten the answer right if you didn't make such a careless error."

"We don't really put as much emphasis on math in America as you do in Japan," Ryoma shrugged, but evidently this was the wrong thing to say, as Tezuka's glasses flashed.

"That's a terrible excuse," he chastised, "and you know that to participate in any extracurricular activities a student need to have decent marks in all subjects."

Ryoma swallowed, nodding. This seemed to satisfy Tezuka, as he ceased his stern staring and turned his attention back to the workbook.

"Your ways of thinking aren't that bad," he explained, "as is obvious from your strategies on the court. However, you're making careless errors, whether from disinterest or whatever reason."

Again, Ryoma only nodded. "Alright, and what am I supposed to do to stop making careless errors?"

His captain - and now, tutor - turned another page. "Nothing much today, but meet me by the tennis courts after practices today."

Cocking his head to the side curiously, Ryoma watched as Tezuka flipped through another page and frowned. Peering over the page, he saw that is was a doodle of Mr. Sato being hit in the face with a tennis ball. Tezuka gave him a disapproving look, but Ryoma determinedly avoided his eyes.

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

"Eleven times eleven!" Tezuka shouted, slicing the ball and giving it a backward spin.

"Er... a hundred and eleven!" Ryoma shouted back, responding with a slice in the opposite direction. At this, Tezuka suddenly stood up and let the ball pass by him, despite being in perfect reaching distance.

"Wrong," he said. "Again!"

"Eleven times eleven!" Tezuka repeated, starting with an underhand serve.

This time, Ryoma hesitated a moment before answering, his voice looking very much like Inui's when he was analyzing an opponent during a rally.

"A hundred and twenty-one!"

"Twenty five times twenty five!"

"Six hundred and twenty five!"

"Fourteen times three!"

"Th - Thirty two!"

"Forty two," Tezuka corrected, letting the ball bounce sadly past him.

And so another ten minutes passed, with tutor yelling out equations and student answering, growing increasingly irritated as ball after ball rolled off the court at each incorrect answer he made.

"What's the point of this, anyways?" Ryoma asked, when yet another ball was failed to be returned by his captain. "I'm concentrating more on tennis than on math, but you're just letting the balls roll right past you."

"Exactly. The main reason you make errors in your calculations is because you're disinterested in what you're doing, so we need to find a source of motivation to start you off. Besides, when you can learn to do calculations in your head despite focusing on something else, then you can surely pass with high marks on a test," Tezuka explained, a very, _very_ slight hint of smugness in his voice.

With another underhand serve, the rally continued, becoming more and more intense, giving a chance for even a drive A and a zero-shiki drop shot.

"That last one was pretty good," stated the elder of the two in a way that would have been complimentary way, if not for the fact that Kunimitsu Tezuka did not dish out compliments lightly.

"Yeah," Ryoma agreed, if not a little grudgingly. For the first time since they started, it was not Tezuka who failed to return the shot, but he himself.

Tezuka seemed to sense this, and Ryoma swore he seemed a little amused, but a jiffy later his face was set in stone again.

"We continue."

Whether it was because their rallies were getting more interesting or what, Ryoma wasn't sure, but when the captain next served, it wasn't underhand anymore.

"Aah!" he hissed, dropping his racquet after an unsuccessful overhand serve, his right hand moving automatically towards his left shoulder.

In a flash, Ryoma was over the net, rushing towards his captain.

"It's hurting again, isn't it?" he asked, kneeling down next to Tezuka, who didn't say anything. "You're going to Germany to get it cured, I overheard you talking to Oishi-senpai."

Tezuka remained still for a moment, before pulling his arm away from Ryoma's hesitant hand and straightening up.

"I think that this is enough for today," was all he said before shouldering on his tennis bag and leaving.

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

"Ryoma Echizen!" Mr. Akiyama growled, exactly three days after Mr. Sato had introduced his new tutoring system.

"What, huh?" Ryoma jerked awake again, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Oh did I fall asleep again?"

Sighing in agitation, Mr. Akiyama even started wringing his hands before huffing out, "I know that you can more than ace my classes, Mr. Echizen, but it is extremely _rude _and _disrespectful_ for a student to keep falling asleep in class!"

"Sorry," the sleepy student apologized, before looking towards the blackboard and giving a cheeky grin. "By the way, you spelt 'abundance' wrong."

Ignoring the sniggering of the male students and dreamy sighs from the girls, Mr. Akiyama seized Ryoma up by the collar and dragged him towards the door and shoved him out, before slamming the door shut after him.

"And don't come back in before you learn some proper manners!"

Ryoma sighed and pulled his hat lower over his eyes.

"I see math isn't the only class you have problems with," said a familiar deep voice.

Lips quirking, Ryoma readjusted his cap so he could properly look at his captain. "Actually, that was English. I was kicked out after correcting the teacher."

"Interesting, I notice that my teachers, too, get pretty irritated when I keep correcting that the Vikings arrived in North America before Christopher Columbus."

_You don't fall asleep in class, though,_ Ryoma wanted to say, but felt as though the captain would take more in a disrespectful way than a light joke.

"Why are _you_ out of class?" he asked, just realizing this fact.

"I'm supposed to be bringing a note down to the headmaster's office."

Ryoma pulled his hat lower over his face again as Tezuka passed him. However, Tezuka paused at the top of the stairs.

"You really need to learn to be more respectful towards other people," he told him, and then he was gone.

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

Mr. Akiyama received a full pardon from Ryoma for his disrespect that very day.

Mr. Sato will also stare in shock at the big, red, 100% on Ryoma's end of term exam, but that won't be for another couple of months.

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

**Tezuka's POV**

As Tezuka sat eating with Oishi and Syusuuke in the school cafeteria, his eyes couldn't help but drift towards a certain underclassman. His eyes seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

He was, like always, eating lunch with his three friends, who were talking about who knows what in a rather animated way, with Horio using large hand gestures and even going as far as stabbing a fork into his broccoli.

Ryoma, however, was as silent as always, watching his friends debate amongst one another, his face propped on an elbow. Occasionally he would laugh and take a sip from his drink. When Horio stood up and gave a mighty wave of the hand, Ryoma gave one of his cheeky grins and said something that was difficult to hear from where Tezuka was sitting. This riled up a reaction from his friend, whose jaw dropped and tackled him to the ground.

And then a thought hit him.

Why was he watching Ryoma anyways?

His eyes snapped back to his food, which suddenly became a lot more interesting, and took a large bite from it. When he trusted himself to look up again, he caught Syusuuke's eye, who looked towards Ryoma, then back at Tezuka, then back at his own food, his trademark grin just a little more devious.

Tezuka supposed that had he not been Kunimitsu Tezuka, that smile (which was looking more like an evil smirk by the second) would have shaken him to the very core, but being the pillar that he was, merely turned back to his plate and took a bite from his own broccoli.

Oishi, who was watching with a knowing look, smiled before commenting on his history lesson earlier that morning, knowing Tezuka to be quite the history buff.

And with that, the three friends discussed world war two with as much excitement as the four first years a couple of tables away from them.

_**The Prince of Tennis**_

**I am now taking prompts now! Preferably a oneshot, can be from any fandom you want, and I most likely watched/read it.**

**Also remember to leave your lovely reviews and requests for future chapters!**


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